NASA chief suggests SpaceX could lose its lunar lander contract

(CNN) - NASA is rethinking its reliance on SpaceX to land astronauts on the moon.

Monday, Sean Duffy, the acting administrator for NASA, said the agency is going to let other companies compete with SpaceX for the NASA contract.

In 2021, SpaceX was awarded a $2.9 billion agreement to build the Starship vehicle for the Artemis 3 moon-landing mission.

But with the project lagging behind schedule, Duffy said he’s not going to wait for one company while China races to put astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.

The Artemis 3 mission is currently slated for 2027.

It could mark the first crewed moon landing since the Apollo program wrapped up five decades ago.